WordPress 6.9 Gene: Everything New Explained for Beginners

WordPress 6.9 “Gene” landed on December 2, 2025, and it is one of the most feature-packed releases in recent memory. Named after American jazz pianist Gene Harris, this update brings collaboration tools, new blocks, performance boosts, and developer features that make WordPress smarter and easier to use. If you missed the previous release, check out our WordPress 6.8 features overview first. Here is everything you need to know about what changed in 6.9 and why it matters.

Notes: Google Docs-Style Collaboration Comes to WordPress

The biggest headline feature in WordPress 6.9 is Notes — a block-level commenting system that works a lot like Google Docs. If you have ever wanted to leave feedback on a specific paragraph or image without editing the content itself, Notes is exactly that.

Here is how it works:

• Click the three-dot menu on any block and select “Add Note”
• Type your comment, and it attaches directly to that block
• Team members can reply to your note, creating a conversation thread
• When the issue is resolved, anyone can mark the note as resolved
• WordPress sends email notifications when notes are added, so nobody misses feedback

All notes are visible in a dedicated Notes panel in the editor sidebar, giving you an overview of every conversation on the page. Notes are completely private — your visitors never see them on the live site.

This is a game-changer for teams. Instead of sending screenshots and emails back and forth about content changes, editors and writers can have the conversation right where the content lives. Even solo bloggers will find it useful for leaving themselves reminders on draft posts.

Block Visibility: Hide Blocks Without Deleting Them

WordPress 6.9 adds a native “Hide on Frontend” option for any block. This means you can keep a block visible in the editor for reference but make it invisible to visitors on your live site.

Why is this useful?

• Staging content: Prepare a new section for a product launch without showing it publicly until you are ready
• Testing designs: Try out a new layout on a page without affecting what visitors see
• Seasonal content: Hide a holiday banner after the season ends instead of deleting it, so you can reuse it next year
• Collaborative workflows: Keep work-in-progress sections visible to your team in the editor while hiding them from the public

Hidden blocks appear in the Document Overview panel with a visual indicator, so you always know what is hidden. When you are ready to show a block, just toggle the visibility back on — no need to recreate anything.

Previously, you needed a third-party plugin like Block Visibility to do this. Now it is built right into WordPress.

Accordion Block: Collapsible Content Sections, Finally Native

One of the most requested features in WordPress history is here. The Accordion block lets you create collapsible content sections without installing any plugin.

Each accordion section has a heading that visitors can click to expand or collapse the content below it. The block supports multiple panels, so you can create entire FAQ sections, product feature lists, or step-by-step guides that do not take up the full page.

What makes the WordPress 6.9 Accordion block special is that it is a full container block. Unlike simple toggle blocks from plugins, each accordion panel can hold any blocks inside it — paragraphs, images, lists, tables, even other blocks. This makes it much more flexible than basic FAQ-style toggles.

Other useful Accordion features:

• Anchor support: Link directly to a specific accordion item from anywhere on your site or from search results — great for SEO
• Customizable styling: Style accordion headings with colors, typography, and spacing just like regular heading blocks
• Accessible by default: The block follows WAI-ARIA patterns, meaning keyboard navigation and screen readers work correctly out of the box

Math Block: Write Equations Without Plugins

If you run an educational site, tutor blog, or any website that needs mathematical formulas, the new Math block is for you. It supports LaTeX notation, the same formatting standard used by universities and scientific publications worldwide.

Type a LaTeX expression like E = mc^2 or a complex integral, and WordPress renders it as a properly formatted equation. The block supports both block-level equations (displayed on their own line) and inline math within paragraphs.

Before WordPress 6.9, you needed plugins like MathJax or KaTeX to display formulas. Now it works natively, which means faster page loads and one less plugin to maintain.

Time to Read Block: Show Reading Estimates on Posts

Another new block in WordPress 6.9 is Time to Read. It automatically calculates and displays the estimated reading time for your post based on word count. You have seen this on sites like Medium — “5 min read” displayed near the post title.

You can add this block to your single post template in the Site Editor, and it updates automatically as you edit your content. It supports two display modes: specific values (“5 minutes”) and ranges (“4-6 minutes”). For blogs and content-heavy sites, showing reading time helps visitors decide whether to start reading and sets realistic expectations.

Stretchy Text: Headlines That Fill Their Container

WordPress 6.9 introduces Stretchy Heading and Stretchy Paragraph block variations. These automatically scale text to fill the width of their container, regardless of screen size.

This is particularly useful for:

• Hero sections: Create large, impactful headlines that look perfect on every screen size
• Landing pages: Make text-based headers that adapt to the layout without manual font size adjustments
• Design-forward sites: Achieve that “editorial magazine” look where headlines stretch edge to edge

The text scales responsively, so a headline that stretches across a desktop screen will proportionally shrink on mobile without breaking the layout.

Command Palette Everywhere

The Command Palette — activated with Ctrl+K (Windows) or Command+K (Mac) — was introduced in an earlier WordPress release but only worked inside the Site Editor. In WordPress 6.9, it works everywhere across the WordPress dashboard.

This means you can press the shortcut from any admin page and instantly:

• Search for settings pages
• Jump to a specific post or page
• Create a new post
• Navigate to plugin settings
• Toggle editor preferences

If you are used to search-based launchers like Spotlight on Mac or the Start menu search on Windows, the Command Palette works the same way inside WordPress. It is a major time-saver once you build the habit of using it.

Terms Query Block: Display Categories and Tags Dynamically

The Terms Query block displays dynamic lists of your categories, tags, or any custom taxonomy anywhere on your site. Unlike static lists, this block updates automatically as you add new terms.

You can choose between list and grid layouts, configure sorting (alphabetical, count, or custom order), and filter which terms appear. This is useful for archive pages, sidebars, or footer navigation where you want visitors to discover content by topic.

Performance Improvements You Will Actually Notice

WordPress 6.9 includes several behind-the-scenes performance improvements that make your site faster without any action from you:

• Smarter CSS loading: Classic themes now load only the CSS for blocks that are actually used on each page, reducing file sizes and improving page speed
• Emoji scripts moved to footer: The emoji detection script no longer blocks page rendering. This improves your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) score, which is a Core Web Vitals metric that directly affects your Google search ranking
• Optimized cron jobs: WordPress scheduled tasks (like checking for updates and sending emails) now run at shutdown instead of during page loads, so visitors never experience slowdowns from background processes

These are exactly the kind of improvements that add up. You will not see a dramatic change from any single one, but together they make your site measurably faster — especially on mobile devices with slower connections.

Over 70 Accessibility Improvements

WordPress 6.9 includes more than 70 accessibility fixes, making it one of the most accessibility-focused releases ever. These improvements refine how WordPress interacts with screen readers, keyboard navigation, and other assistive technologies.

For site owners, this means:

• The editor is easier to navigate with keyboard-only input
• Screen reader announcements are more accurate when editing blocks
• Focus management is improved throughout the admin interface
• Color contrast and interactive element sizing meet updated standards

Accessibility is not just a checkbox. It affects SEO (Google favors accessible sites), legal compliance (accessibility lawsuits are increasing), and the 15% of the global population who rely on assistive technology to use the web.

Abilities API: What It Is and Why It Matters

The Abilities API is a developer-focused feature, but it is worth understanding because it will affect the plugins you use in the future.

In simple terms, the Abilities API is a standardized way for plugins and themes to tell WordPress (and other tools, including AI assistants) what they can do. Instead of each plugin implementing its own custom system, they can now register their capabilities in a common format that WordPress understands.

For example, an SEO plugin could register abilities like “analyze page SEO” or “generate meta description” with defined inputs and outputs. A backup plugin could register “create site backup” and “restore from backup.” This standardization makes it possible for AI tools, automation platforms, and other plugins to interact with these capabilities without custom integration code.

As a site owner, you will start seeing plugins that work better together and respond to commands more predictably — especially as AI-powered tools become more common in the WordPress ecosystem.

PHP 8.5 Beta Support

WordPress 6.9 adds beta support for PHP 8.5, resolving known incompatibilities, warnings, and deprecation notices. WordPress continues to support PHP 7.2 and above, but running a newer PHP version gives you better performance and security.

If your hosting provider supports PHP 8.4 or 8.5, it is worth switching. Most managed WordPress hosts like SiteGround, Cloudways, and Bluehost make this a one-click change in your hosting dashboard. Always back up your site before changing PHP versions, and test to make sure your plugins and theme are compatible.

Other Notable Changes

A few more improvements worth mentioning:

• Better email handling: The wp_mail function now supports inline images, making automated WordPress emails look more professional
• Button element choice: Button blocks can now use either <a> or <button> HTML elements, giving developers more control over semantics
• Cover block poster images: Video cover blocks now support poster images that display while the video loads, improving the experience on slow connections
• Navigation block improvements: You can now create pages directly from the navigation menu editor and open links in new tabs from the sidebar settings
• Legacy IE code removed: WordPress finally dropped Internet Explorer compatibility code, reducing the codebase and improving performance for everyone using a modern browser

How to Update to WordPress 6.9

Before updating, take these steps:

1. Back up your site — use your hosting provider’s backup tool or a plugin like UpdraftPlus
2. Check plugin compatibility — visit each plugin’s page on wordpress.org and look for “Tested up to: 6.9” in the sidebar
3. Update plugins and themes first — make sure everything is current before updating WordPress core
4. Update WordPress — go to Dashboard > Updates and click “Update to version 6.9”
5. Test your site — check your homepage, a few posts, your contact form, and any other critical functionality

If you are on managed hosting (SiteGround, WP Engine, Kinsta, Bluehost), your host may have already applied the update automatically. Check your WordPress version under Dashboard > Updates to confirm.

Should You Update Now?

Yes. WordPress 6.9 is a stable release with over 900 contributors and extensive testing. The performance improvements alone make it worth updating. The new blocks (Accordion, Math, Time to Read) eliminate the need for separate plugins, which means fewer plugins to maintain and fewer potential security vulnerabilities.

If you rely heavily on custom themes or complex plugin setups, test the update on a staging site first. If you are still deciding on a theme, our guide on how to choose and install a WordPress theme covers what to look for. Most managed hosting providers offer one-click staging environments for exactly this purpose.

WordPress 6.9 “Gene” is a solid step forward. The collaboration features (Notes, Block Visibility) make team workflows smoother, the new blocks add functionality that previously required plugins, and the performance improvements help with both user experience and search rankings. Update, explore the new features, and enjoy the improvements.

Beginner WordPress Tips WordPress 6.9 WordPress Updates

Last modified: February 16, 2026